


Reactions

by goodisrelative



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-01
Updated: 2009-12-01
Packaged: 2017-10-04 02:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodisrelative/pseuds/goodisrelative
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Sometimes she forgot he was an alien since he looked so human.  Other times he made it so hard to forget he was an alien, with the things he said and did.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reactions

_ **Doctor Who Fic... The long awaited Number 2 technically** _

Title: Reactions  
Author: Goodisrelative  
Pairing: 9/Rose  
Rating: R for language (one major swear)  
Spoilers: none really I can think of. I'd only seen thru ep 3 of S1 when I wrote this.  
Summary: _Sometimes she forgot he was an alien since he looked so human. Other times he made it so hard to forget he was an alien, with the things he said and did._  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, nor the characters involved. They belong to BBC. I make no money from these works; they are for entertainment purposes only.  
  
A/N: I wrote this after watching the first 3 episodes of Season/Series 1. It's my thoughts on something that my heart sees in their relationship and how they see it.  
This story is for the [](http://community.livejournal.com/ffkoah/profile)[](http://community.livejournal.com/ffkoah/)**ffkoah** challenge Kate98 posted.  
Thanks to [](http://thekatebeyond.livejournal.com/profile)[**thekatebeyond**](http://thekatebeyond.livejournal.com/) and [](http://loneraven.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://loneraven.livejournal.com/)**loneraven** for betaing!  
A/N2: For those not up on London slang… pipes are legs. :-) Although the Doctor is "from the North", he appears to have a complete grasp of slang, and therefore I took artistic license to say he would know this bit of slang.  
**ETA:** A/N3: For reference, [](http://thekatebeyond.livejournal.com/profile)[**thekatebeyond**](http://thekatebeyond.livejournal.com/)... I actually posted this at the time stamp (23 April) BUT I made it private until this AM (24 April) otherwise, I'd totally forget about posting it until way late tonight!

* * *

 

Rose didn't dress for him. These clothes weren't something she normally wore around the Doctor. She usually wore jeans and a hoodie or period dress for whatever time they were in – and some of those clothes showed more of her chest than any tarty top from London, 2005. The dresses, though, always covered her legs to her ankles or the floor. After all their adventures recently, she just wanted to wear something she thought was cute, made her feel pretty, and wasn't merely functional.

He told her – promised her – some rest after the last planet, rest on the TARDIS, without fear of danger. She took him at his word and put on the clothes she wanted. The skirt was short; the top was short sleeved and showed her midriff. Rose slid her favorite sandals on her feet – she gave a quick thought to heels, which showed her legs better, but knew that was overkill and just a touch too obvious.

She didn't dress for him – at least not fully. Okay, maybe she wanted to see his reaction. Maybe she _needed_ to see his reaction. Needed to know how he felt about her. Needed to know she wasn't going mental; that she wasn't the only one who felt something between them. She didn't know what she felt for the Doctor; was maybe too scared to really analyze and figure it out. Whatever it was, was so different and stronger than what she felt for Mickey… and it sure as hell wasn't what she felt for her mum or any of her friends. Right now, she just needed to know she wasn't the only one who felt _it_.

She had come to the conclusion that if she was, then it was time for her to go home. She loved her life with the Doctor and there was nothing she'd trade it for, but she couldn't stay if he didn't feel the same or at least feel _something_. She had no idea what she'd do back home, if she could survive the boredom this time around, but she'd go.

Mind made up, Rose stepped out of her room and went in search of the Doctor. She'd never have the nerve to ask him outright, but it was time to find out. As she walked the halls of the TARDIS, she prayed to a being that she was now pretty sure had never existed, given everything she had seen since meeting the Doctor.

"Rose!" his voice with its Northern accent broke her thoughts, as it echoed through the empty halls – echoed in her very soul.

"Coming!" she called back, starting to run, then stopping suddenly. "_Where_ are you?"

"Console room," came the echoing reply.

She walked quickly, skidding to a stop near him. His head was under the main console, his long legs sticking out. She took a step back from him. She was wearing lacy knickers, but that wasn't something she was willing to share with _him_. That wasn't the kind of show she wanted to give _any_one at this point!

Her heart was pounding as she waited – waited for him to move, waited for him to see her, waited for something.

He slid out from under the console and the first thing he focused on were her painted toe-nails, then her ankles, and finally his eyes slid up her legs. His eyes could resist traveling up her legs like the oceans of Earth could resist the pull of the moon.

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him go still and his eyes travel the length of her legs. She started to smile, knowing she'd gotten the reaction that she was looking for.

But then he spoke and her smile froze and morphed into a grimace.

*****

"_What_ are you wearing?" he demanded, his voice almost nasty in tone. Bugger the fear he felt, causing him to panic at the sight of her. God, he wanted to take the words back as soon as they were out of his mouth. He wished he could turn back time, only seconds really, right _now_ to prevent himself from saying those hurtful words. Nine hundred plus years, a million planets visited, billions of peoples met, and he still couldn't say the right thing.

The light in her eyes had always been a reason – one he'd never admit to – for coming back, giving her the second chance he _knew_ she'd take to come with him. He met her eyes and watched helplessly as the brilliant light that always shone brighter than three suns dimmed and faded until it was gone. And it was the death of that light that overshadowed the pain that had been his constant companion since the end of the last great time war.

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Instead she turned and ran, tears hidden from his view.

The Doctor didn't need the TARDIS' furious blinking to tell him he'd said the absolutely wrong thing. He could feel each tear that fell like a blow to the body.

*****

"Fuck!" She stumbled to her knees as she tripped on something. It didn't stop her, though. She was up and in her room a moment later, throwing her things in her bag. She sincerely hoped nothing of _his_ got in there because she didn't want him showing up one day, calling her a stupid ape-thief. But she couldn't see through the tears in her eyes. Obviously what she hoped for, prayed for, _needed_ was just a figment of her own delusional mind.

It wasn't supposed to hurt like this, she thought. Not this much, not this bad. _Oh, god, not like this!_ She'd felt guilty about leaving Mickey, but little else, and definitely not this sharp pain. But Mickey wasn't the Doctor, not even a poor, loosely based facsimile of him.

"That's part of the wardrobe." His voice broke through her screaming mind.

"Bloody hell!" she cried, whirling and throwing whatever it was in her hand at him. For not being able to see through her tears, she hit him dead center in the chest.

She turned back to her packing, but she couldn't stay silent anymore. If he could hurt her like this, she had to try and hurt him back; it was self-preservation. "I thought maybe… I mean I needed … You…" She couldn't get the words out past the horribly large lump in her throat.

The TARDIS' lights blinked feverishly and Rose was sure she was losing her mind.

"Shut up! Don't you think I bloody well know that?!" he exploded, looking up at the ceiling, his fear paralyzing him. She was going to leave him because he was being an arse.

"Just get out! I want you to take me home. Right now!" Rose finally screamed, coming at him. "You got your wish! You are free of the stupid, childish ape!" Her fists rained down on his chest as tears rained down her face.

He made no move to stop her, her blows hurting far less than the sheer pain in her eyes. His voice was low, but solid steel. "No." He caught her hands now, holding her fists captive in an iron grip against his chest. "No," he repeated louder. He moved both of her fists to one of his hands and used his now free hand to force her chin up so she could look him in the eyes. "I am not taking you home, Rose."

She struggled to free herself. After a brief moment, he sighed and released her. She swiped the back of her hand over her eyes, needing to _see_ him, needing to see his eyes.

He only breathed again when Rose stayed where she was – deep in his personal space.

His hearts stopped when she softly asked, "Why? I need to know why. I can't stay knowing it's only me who…"

"It's not," he interrupted her, his hearts starting again. "It's not only you."

"I thought… I needed to know, you know? So I came and hoped that I'd get _some_ kind of reaction. I suppose I should have specified the reaction I wanted." She gave him a watery smile as her tears subsided.

Suddenly his arms were crushing her to his chest and she couldn't help but grin into it. "Now this is more the reaction I was shooting for," she laughed.

When she laughed, it was the best sound he had heard in nine hundred plus years. He broke into his manic grin, knowing they were going to be okay. "So you dressed like this for me?" His voice was playful.

"Actually," she paused for effect, and then continued, "no. I love this outfit. I love how it makes me feel when I wear it." She smiled and looked up at him. "But, I did hope it would get a reaction from you, so in a small way, yes."

The lights blinked softly this time. "Oh, shut up!" he muttered, grinning like a fool.

"I didn't say anything!" Rose replied, indignantly.

He chuckled and she loved how it rumbled through his chest.

"I was talking to the TARDIS, not you, Rose," he said.

Rose looked up at him again and he could see her thought process reflected in her now clear eyes. "The lights. They _were_ blinking just now, and before! Bloody hell! I thought I was going mental before."

The Doctor grinned, idly wondering if his face would freeze that way now, he was smiling so much with her. "Yup. Well, you might be a nutter, but seeing blinking lights, at least on the TARDIS, isn't a symptom."

Rose smacked him then resettled her head against his chest, just savoring being in his arms.

He counted to himself silently. One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three…

Suddenly Rose lifted her head and met his eyes again. "You have…"

"Two hearts," he finished for her.

Sometimes she forgot he was an alien since he looked so human. Other times he made it so hard to forget he _was_ an alien, with the things he said and did.

She settled back again with a sigh and listened to the two beats for a moment. Then she asked, "Why?"

"Because," was all the answer he gave her. He'd never tell her what came to mind right then – or what the TARDIS blinked. _All the more to love you with. _

"What did the TARDIS just say?" she asked.

"She said it was time I got back to working on her. Enough of the domestics," he grinned, lying easily.

Rose sighed, not wanting to leave his arms. She knew he was lying, but accepted that he'd tell her when he was ready. She stepped back as he dropped his arms.

He turned to leave her room, but stopped when she spoke. There was knowing flirtation in her voice when she asked, "So Doctor, like the look you got of my pipes?"

"Fishing for a compliment, Rose?" he cheekily asked, not answering her question. He watched as she pouted and moved to throw something else at him. He grinned foolishly and turned back towards the door. "You have fantastic pipes, darling." He waited a moment. "For a human!" She threw the blouse at him, but he was already gone.

The light was back in her eyes, shining brighter than four suns now. For a beat in time, he felt at peace.

And then his grin faded, now that he was alone in the halls. If he had been a strong man, alien, Time Lord, he would have taken her home. He wouldn't have gone after her, unable to handle the death of hope in her eyes. It was safer – better for her – he knew for him to have brought her home, leaving her angry at him rather than have her happy and here. But he couldn't do it. He needed her; selfishly wanted her with him for as long as he could have her. And he couldn't let himself be the reason the light was gone from her eyes. He knew he was condemning her even as he cursed himself for not being strong enough to do what was best for her – let her go.

Maybe one time soon he'd be strong enough to let her go, before it was too late.


End file.
